Well, that’s not what I was expecting. This book was quick and short, with a satisfying payoff at the end. This was just creepy enough for an intro to the Halloween season.

My only real complaint is that I just don’t vibe with mixed media in books. The transcript sections just fell flat for me.

What I Liked:
-Haunted Houses
-MC pondering what to do with their life

What Didn’t Work:
-mixed media

This book was really entertaining at first, but somewhere down the line it really didn’t work for me! It was very short and caught my attention but around 15% in i really started to dislike where the story was going. That said I did end up finishing the book but it was slightly a bit predictable.


2.5⭐️Thank You to the publisher for the review copy of this book!

DNF - I think this just didn't work for me because I was wanting more complexity to the haunts. There will be readers who surely appreciate this for what it is.

What if a fake reality show about haunted properties ends up… not so fake? In Sarah Pinsker’s latest novella, a newly-hired production assistant ends up right in the middle of a haunting, while still trying to figure out who she wants to be and what kind of life she wants. It’s an engaging story that feels a little like house-hunting during an episode of Supernatural. I enjoyed this.

Mara is in her twenties, and struggling to figure out her place in the world. She’s been bouncing around between jobs, college, and homes, all the while struggling to feel like she belongs anyway. When an opportunity arises to get her foot in the door of the entertainment industry, she takes it, thinking it will at the very least be a decent job for a short while. Navigating the strange world of television, and keeping her connection to the show’s star mostly a secret, Mara takes to the job — setting up “evidence” of hauntings and other spooky happenings on the reality show. Every so often, she gets a helping hand from another, mysterious assistant — one who seems especially gifted at enhancing the effects intended on scaring the guests on the show. They form a bond, and are unnervingly similar in certain ways…

It’s a little difficult going into much detail without spoiling the story. What I will say is that Pinsker has a gift for writing characters and evoking spooky (but not cliché) atmosphere. The story is tightly told, and while I would have liked to spend more time with the protagonist and in her world, I think the novella is just the right length — it told a complete story, never felt rushed, and developed Mara very well. There’s also some good satire of the television/entertainment industry, which I always enjoy. The “mechanics” of the haunting that Pinsker develops were a stand-out element for me: it’s an interesting twist on some classic mythologies, but the author adds a couple of original elements that set it apart.

This is the first book by Pinsker that I’ve read, and it certainly won’t be the last; I look forward to reading more of the author’s work in the future. (I’ll start with the award-winning A Song for a New Day.)

I love reality TV, so I was already hooked - this was really interesting and I ended up reding it really quickly. It was on the lighter side for a horror novella, which was nice for a change!

This was a quick read. Easily bingeable and the perfect book to cozy up with the for autumn season reading. I was hooked on this one right from the start!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I prefer my horror novels short and sweet, so when I saw that Haunt Sweet Home was under 200 pages it instantly appealed to me. The concept of a ghostly HGTV-style show sounded really fun and kitschy in the best way.

While this book had a couple of good ideas and included some deeper themes relating to art that took me by surprise, I unfortunately found the overall plot lacking. The repetitive nature of the scene setups ultimately became frustrating after a while. The writing itself also wasn’t very strong. I couldn’t connect to the main character at a level that would make the emotional beats more impactful.

If you’re an HGTV lover looking for a quick ghost-y read for autumn, I’d say maybe give this a try. But I think there are much more effective stories out there.

3 stars / 6 out of 10

Mara is excited when her cousin lands her a job in production of Haunt Sweet Home. The haunted home/makerover reality show is a huge hit but she knows she needs to be on her best behavior as the lowest person on the totem pole. While the show is creating “hauntings,” some weird things begin to happen to Mara, and she wonders if it’s all as fake as she thought it was.

Love me a good haunted house. Well, ok, fine. I don’t really like to go to haunted houses, but I do love reading about them! This story was so dang fun and I loved every second of it! I did it on audio which was the perfect way to read it, as it felt a bit like a podcast at times. I just needed to know if there was legit some haunting going on or if it was all fabricated for the show. Overall I really enjoyed this one!

Thank you to @Torbooks for my gifted copy of this book!

I really enjoyed the premise of this novel. It was a unique setup and an interesting story line. The character of Mara felt like someone I knew. She was really in a point in her life where she didn't really know where to take herself and it felt really relatable to someone who is also a late bloomer. The novel wasn't scary in the traditional sense but still felt perfect for spooky season. I did really love the cut between prose of the novel and the tv dialogue.

I did the combo read and audiobook. I enjoyed this fast paced story. Wasn't really scary but still a spooky read perfect for spooky reading season.

3.5 stars rounded down!

Haunt Sweet Home was an entertaining and quick read, but overall kind of left me wanting more from the horror aspects. Maybe that’s on me for not fully reading synopses before going in, but overall my experience was just fine.

Thank you Netgalley for my review copy!

I would first like to thank NetGalley and Tordotcom for an e-ARC copy of this book.

What a fun little cozy/spooky novella to get me in the fall mood.

Mara, our FMC, is a little adrift at the moment. Realizing that school isn’t for her but feeling immense pressure by her family to go back to school and “find her thing,” she ultimately gets a job working the night shift on her cousin’s hit reality tv show. Think Ghost Hunters meets Extreme Makeover.

Haunt Sweet Home isn’t a coming-of-age story, rather it’s a commentary on aging and the struggle people have between fulfilling their passion versus paying the bills and familial expectations. Plus some fun commentary about how reality shows are made! How does a haunting get involved in that plot? I guess you’ll have to read to find out.

3.5 stars

I really wanted to like this but I couldn’t connect to any of the characters and the story wasn’t captivating.

I wasn't really into this one. I liked the concept because it gave HGTV x Expedition X vibes. But it fell flat. I got lost in what I was reading in a bad way.

Haunt Sweet Home is a short little book chock full of doubt, art, and growth. It’s a great addition to your haunted house lists, while also serving as a palate cleanser between darker stuff.

I liked it, but I feel like it was unfinished. It was a cool concept about "haunting" a house for a reality TV show, but once the supernatural thing started, and then got revealed, I felt a little...I don't know. Let down? Aside from that, I did love the writing, Mara felt like a legit young person. The whittling thing was cool, I wanted to know more about it.

This one is a novella so I don't want to give too much away, but I had such a good time reading this! I zipped through it, loving the show transcript at the beginning of each chapter, and seeing Mara delve into the world of fake haunting. Up until the point where something strange starts happening at a location, and she wasn't behind it.

This is more of a lighter horror, with just enough creepy moments to keep the horror alive. From beginning to end I was hooked and I can't wait to see what this author is going to write next!

𝑯𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝑺𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝑯𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝑺𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒉 𝑷𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒓. Thank you Tor Publishing Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for my #gifted copies. My opinion and review are of my own accord.

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬

Lost and trying to find herself, Mara joins her cousin’s ghost hunting/home makeover TV show as a night-time PA.

As Mara tries to dupe homeowners into some scares, spooky happenings start to occur. Are these houses really haunted or is someone trying to dupe Mara?

𝓜𝔂 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼:
☁️☁️☁️

This was a VERY short and fast hauntingly spooky read! A very nice TWIST! The audio version was excellent!

Haunt Sweet Home is a Horror novella featuring a Reality TV show, part Ghost Adventures, part HGTV, wherein home makeovers are mixed with the ghosts that live there.

Our MC is Mara, who lands a job on the show as a PA. Her cousin, Jeremy, is the show's host. He knows she's been bouncing between different pursuits, trying to find her path, so at a family function he offers her the job. Mara being Mara, she doesn't commit right away. It takes some time before all the pieces fall in place. Once she is on the job though, she feels like it's going to work. She feels like maybe she's found her place.

This story follows Mara as she settles into her job, and tags along to the set of a few of the episodes. After a creepy coworker makes Mara begin to question everything though, events truly come to a head. Due to the length of this, I'm not going to say anything more about the story itself. I loved the idea behind it and getting to be on set of the Reality TV show was a lot of fun.

I also loved the various topics explored, particularly those involved in Mara's character arc. I really enjoyed how the author included excerpts from the show too. I felt like I could picture everything, and yeah, I was picturing Jeremy as Zak Bagans, sue me.

I listened to the audiobook for this and did really enjoy it. I thought the narrator's delivery matched very well with how I was picturing Mara's character. It brought it to life for me. I would definitely recommend the audio format for anyone who has that option. Particularly with the Reality TV scenes, it just makes sense to hear it play out.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I'm looking forward to reading more from Sarah Pinsker!

3.5 stars rounded up.

I wonder why this was published by sff stalwart tordotcom instead of by its horror imprint, Nightfire, as the also creepy (and just as speculative, if not more so) <a href="https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/09/03/crypt-of-the-moon-spider-by-nathan-ballingrud/">Crypt Of The Moon Spider</a> was. Regardless, I'm so glad that this novella has been released as a standalone book, perfect as a quick-ish read as the cold and dark start to roll in to where I live in downcounty Maryland.

Mara is the odd duck in her family of overbearing overachievers. She doesn't really know what to do with her life despite being well into her twenties. She keeps trying community college but mostly works in retail, and does some light maintenance work on her uncle's rental properties in exchange for a break on the rent of her own apartment.

When her oldest cousin Jeremy mentions that he has an opening behind the scenes of the cable TV show he's hosting, Mara is initially reluctant to accept. But community college sucks, so after a few misfires, she finally joins him on the set of his ghosthunting/home reno show, Haunt Sweet Home. The show focuses on homeowners who have just bought a fixer upper that may or may not be haunted. The day crew focuses on the home makeover part of the show, while the night crew focuses on the hauntings. As Mara quickly learns, production is not above creating a few unsettling effects of their own in order to make for good television.

As a non-union production assistant on the night crew, Mara is at the very bottom of the pecking order, so is given the most uncomfortable and annoying tasks. She doesn't super mind this: being a general dogsbody means that she doesn't have to think too much, and skulking around in the dark has never really bothered her, given her upbringing. But when a floater from the day crew starts tagging along to help her out, Mara starts to question what's really going on around her. The show might be manufacturing ghosts for its viewers, but could some of those ghosts end up being real?

I overall really enjoyed this ghost story but I have to say that it was primarily because I liked and sympathized with Mara. Her family sucked. It was weird for me because there's a moment where Mara's new friend Jo accuses her of not appreciating what she has, and while I understand that having a big, cheerful, artistic/musical family can be a blessing, her family members all treat Mara pretty poorly. The main exception is Oma, and even there Mara's sadness is perfectly justified. While I get that not everyone in a clan can look out for each other -- and cousins can definitely be the worst, especially when they're in a pack -- her parents are especially crappy in that American way I've never understood. Why do some people treat parenthood like a reverse custodial sentence that ends at eighteen years? And I get it, families in the 21st century are probably better than families in the 19th, just in the general way that everything has improved with time and technology, but I really couldn't take Jo's accusation at all seriously. It just felt like more of the same bullying and gaslighting that Mara's been subject to her whole life, and I didn't care for it.

I was also unconvinced by the double (triple?) twist of the library haunting, especially when the owners found out about Mara's role in it. I suppose since at least one reveal wasn't televised, that keeps the show's fraudulence secret. I did like the tentative exploration of what it means to make art, of the fusion of artist with creation. While I don't think it was perfectly dealt with here, it did feel like the seed of something great for Sarah Pinsker to keep working on in following stories. I've really enjoyed most of her <a href="https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/?s=sarah+pinsker">other Hugo-nominated works</a> to date, and while Haunt Sweet Home isn't quite as up there in my estimation as Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather or Two Truths And A Lie, it's still a great book to cozy up with as fall works its way into the year.

Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker was published September 3 2024 by tordotcom and is available from all good booksellers, including <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15382/9781250330260">Bookshop!</a>